Were there interactions between the development of Kant's aesthetics and the development of his moral philosophy? How did Kant view pleasure and displeasure and what role did they play in the formation of his system of the faculties? In this book, Alexander Rueger situates Kant's account of pleasure and displeasure in its eighteenth-century context, with special attention to Leibniz, Wolff, Crusius, and Mendelssohn. He traces the development of Kant's views on pleasure from the 1770s to his Critique of Aesthetic Judgment in 1790, and shows that throughout, Kant understood pleasure as the satisfaction of faculty interests. The significance of this theory for the completion of Kant's critical system in the third Critique is discussed in detail. Rueger's study illuminates both the role of pleasure and displeasure in Kant's thought, and their important connections to the power of judgment.

‘Alexander Rueger offers an innovative and thoroughgoing study of pleasure and judgment (and much more) in Kant's third Critique. The informative earlier parts of the book lay the ground for original discussions of morality, symbolism, genius, and art. In addition, his analysis unfolds with admirable attention to the development and sources of Kant's thought.'

Robert Clewis - Gwynedd Mercy University

‘… offers abundant important insights on the role of the productive imagination in aesthetic judgment and the theoretical use of the understanding that will surely reward Kant scholars of both the theoretical and practical stripe. Given the breadth of Rueger’s historical research, sections of the book will also well serve early modernists and those interested in eighteenth-century aesthetics … the book’s findings extend well beyond the bounds of this area of specialization.’

Ekin Erkan Source: The Review of Metaphysics